Onera

[jogoode]

I got a press release today about Onera, a new ambitious Greek restaurant on the UWS. Its menu is broken into these sections: raw meze, like scallops with yogurt cucumber sauce, pickled fennel and anise leaves; appetizers, like chilled roasted octopus with sweet nuombuolo salami, granny smith apples, mint leaves and an anchovy vinaigrette; pasta, like Varenika, potato stuffed crescent pasta, macerated yellow raisins and dates and crushed cauliflower sauce; as well as sections for meat and fish. Four-course menu includes meze, app, pasta and main for $45. And, bless them, they offer a five-course offal tasting menu for $45 with optional wine pairings for only $20. Each offal dish can be ordered separately, which is good news for those who want the crispy sweetbreads with foie gras dumplings and crushed chicken liver sauce, but not the seared calves brains with fried artichokes and truffle butter. I'll, however, take both -- along with the grilled kidneys with ragout of eggplant and pearl onions and a chickpea fritter.

Onera

222 W. 79th Street

212 873 0200

PR Source, Bullfrog & Baum

[jogoode]

Gael Greene liked it.

[herbacidal]

And, bless them, they offer a five-course offal tasting menu for $45 with optional wine pairings for only $20. Each offal dish can be ordered separately, which is good news for those who want the crispy sweetbreads with foie gras dumplings and crushed chicken liver sauce, but not the seared calves brains with fried artichokes and truffle butter. I'll, however, take both -- along with the grilled kidneys with ragout of eggplant and pearl onions and a chickpea fritter.

Onera

222 W. 79th Street

212 873 0200

PR Source, Bullfrog & Baum

←

Sweet. When we don't have a whole day to spend on an Offal Tour,

we can just use a night for the Offal Dinner.

[jogoode]

And, bless them, they offer a five-course offal tasting menu for $45 with optional wine pairings for only $20. Each offal dish can be ordered separately, which is good news for those who want the crispy sweetbreads with foie gras dumplings and crushed chicken liver sauce, but not the seared calves brains with fried artichokes and truffle butter. I'll, however, take both -- along with the grilled kidneys with ragout of eggplant and pearl onions and a chickpea fritter.

Onera

222 W. 79th Street

212 873 0200

PR Source, Bullfrog & Baum

←

Sweet. When we don't have a whole day to spend on an Offal Tour,

we can just use a night for the Offal Dinner.

←

I was, of course, thinking of you and Sam when saw this menu.

[SobaAddict70]

you forgot me.

Soba

[Daniel]

Going this evening.. Anyone have any suggestions on what to order.

[jogoode]

Going this evening.. Anyone have any suggestions on what to order.

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If Onera's still serving that offal tasting, I'd try that. But that's probably not the best way to get a sense of the place. Gael Greene mentioned the raw meze and the "open" moussaka as standouts. Please tell us how it is -- I'm very curious.

[Daniel]

I am all about that sweetbreads.. And will definately rock the mousakka. I am excited without expecting too much and will definately tell you how it is .

[Busboy]

Going this evening.. Anyone have any suggestions on what to order.

←

If I was going to try to get a bead on a new Greek place, I'd look at the grilled fish and the octupus, looking for freshness, quality of preparation and simplicity.

[jogoode]

Going this evening.. Anyone have any suggestions on what to order.

←

If I was going to try to get a bead on a new Greek place, I'd look at the grilled fish and the octupus, looking for freshness, quality of preparation and simplicity.

←

This restaurant is a bit different in concept than the Greek I'm used to -- it doesn't serve simple grilled fish, unless grilled branzino with braised veal, artichokes, dandelion greens and avgolemono counts as simple .

[Daniel]

Went to Onera last night and was very impressed. The space set in the lower floor of a townhouse on 79th.. Its cozy with dark blue walls, white moldings on the wall, and dark floors.. When you first walk in there is a bar area with couches flanking the walls. The space itself is probably less the a 1000 square feet in total, but the seating arrangements provide you with privacy and space to breathe.

The way the menu is constructed, they suggest you order a meze first, then appetizers, then a main. The meze has scallops ceviche, meat carpaccio, and fish sashimi. We started with the "signature" scallop dish and the veal in a cold tuna sauce. The scallops were absolutely delicious. Served with a cucumber sauce with diced pickled fennel.. Fantastic, fresh, sharp, crisp. The veal dish was certainly good, but I am not really a fan of the cold tuna sauce regardless of it being prepared so well. Served with capers, shallots, and a frisee salad, this tuna sauce was one of the better ones i have had.. Not as mayonaisee as most. I also must tell you that the meze are really tiny. Two meze for 11 dollars, it just is for flavor, it actually made me more hungry eating them.

In between the meze and the appetizers we were given a rissotto with artichokes, and houlimi cheese.. It was rather tasteless in my opinion, but the cost was certainly on point.

Next we moved onto our appetizers. I was so impressed with the appetizers that we decided to order three of them and then split an entree. There were several items that caught my eye and want to go back and try them. More than are on the menu provided at menu pages. We started by getting served the sweetbreads and the crispy baccala together. The sweetbreads are AMAZING. I am thinking the best I have had in a long time. Served perfectly cooked, crispy, light, firm, over a chicken liver sauce. With this dish came fois gras dumplings that could be dipped in creame fraiche drizzled with 25 year old balsamic. Are you kidding me. I could have eaten a plate of dumplings and been happy. They were perfect little dumplings filled with just the right amount.. It wasnt to rich, or oily, it was awesome. <(Side note): At this point we were half way through our first bottle of red wine from the all greek list and my toe was still able to fit in my shoe.> The crispy baccala certainly is a good appetizer, but I was all about the sweetbreads. My date perfered the baccala over the sweetbread so it worked perfectly. However she loved the dumplings. The baccala was served crispy and cooked extremely well. There was a potatoe skordalia "AKA. classy mashed potatoe" on top of the crispy fish served in a tomatoe broth reminiscent of a mousakka tomatoe sauce. Paprika perhaps. Very good stuff. After the first two apps were cleared, they brought on the figs.. These guys were awesome as well. Wrapped in prosciutto, stuffed with blue cheese. What else is there to say.. The prosciutto was crisp, the blue cheese didnt melt out, and the figs were amazing.

Side Note : <Bottle two is comming and the toe is starting to look at me funny. He and the knee are conspiring against me. It must have been something i said because they were starting to get very aggrivated, I hope they didnt hear me order the venison with pig jowels.>

At this point I am properly sauced, well fed, and could have ended the night here, but i am sure glad i didnt.. Since they werent serving the squab last night, they had a substitute on the menu.. It was venison medallions served in a cherry sauce, with crsipy strips of pork jowl.. The venison was medium rare, juicy, just perfect. You couldnt have gotten a better piece. The sauce was fantastic, served with lentils i think as well. Just amazing, it would have been great with out the jowl, but it was so much better with it. I loved this dish. Fantastic.

We moved on to dessert were we got the Chocolate and Sesame. It was a chocolate cake served with sesame ice cream to put it plainly. There were also pieces of Halva sprinkled on the plate. It was really a great dessert and kept the same vibe as dinner. We also gotThe Baklava Reintetrpreted. Cinnamon ice cream(excellent) served a side a puff pastry filled with cream.. Very good.

The chef it turns out is also the pastry chef and owner.. He cooks all the dinners and desserts. He did a super job, and has alot of talent. I really liked the fact that the desserts were made by him as well.. I feel the dessert and head chef dont really gel well and the dessert brings the meal to an abrupt stop alot of times.. I liked being with him from start to finish..

A couple of shots of ouzo, no greek coffee however . and a raging case of the gout, and we were on our way. The place was great. With the very few choices on the upper west side. Something tells me this place is going to be hard to get into fairly soon.

Edited November 11, 2004 by Daniel (log)

[Daniel]

Just got reviewed in the post today. Onera review in the post Not that its so important, but the reviewer made a mistake on describing the walls. He said white walls with blue trim.. Its actually navy walls with white trim..

Edited November 17, 2004 by Daniel (log)

[SobaAddict70]

Sweet, glistening ocean scallops were dressed with a vibrant mix of yogurt, cucumber, fennel and anise. A briny dab of sea urchin came atop a thin, round, quarter-size pedestal of pickled beet. There were meat selections as well: slices of lamb entwined with feta, fried shallots, olives and a sun-dried tomato emulsion; ribbons of veal that were part of a geometrically deconstructed vitello tonnato. These too were great.

As for the offal, which can be ordered à la carte, the sweetbreads and the brain made the best impressions, while the tart, gelatinous headcheese made the worst. But the individual merits of these dishes said less to me than their existence, which suggests Mr. Psilakis's daring and conviction.

Onera (Frank Bruni)

Chef Michael Psilakis, formerly of Ecco in Garden City Park, Long Island, offers a fresh, liberal spin on Greek cuisine that takes Manhattan diners well beyond standard fare.

Commentary relating specifically to this review will be made on the Bruni thread.

Soba

[bourdain]

Inspired by Gael Greene's comment during a spirited game of Death Row Meal that she'd pick Onera as a likely spot, I headed over for a superb tasting menu :

Pixti: jellied head cheese of pork (smashing)

Goat Tripe and Kidney Salad: with sliced onion and chinati vinaigrette

Calf Brains: with fennel, dill and crispy shallots (spectacular--and I'm not usually a brain fan)

Crispy Sweetbreads with foie gras dumpling, chicken liver sauce, sheep milk creme fraiche-and aged balsamic vinegar (didn't like the chicken liver sauce--otherwise good)

Manti Reinvented: Bone marrow and chesnut stuffed ravioli, wild mushrooms and veal jus (I think this is on the regular menu--and it should be. Great. Just reading what's in it you KNOW it's gotta be good, right?)

Lamb Heart with crispy artichokes, lemon oil, avgolemono (great tweak of a classic)

Goat Liver with crushed lentils and duck confit

Braised Tongue Ragout Porcini Mushrooms and white beans, soft poached egg, braising jus. ( Over-the-top and luxurious)

I was really impressed with what they're doing-particularly as I've never had a feel--or much sympatico for Greek food, or the Greek flavor spectrum. This place did a lot to change my thinking. A much needed addition to the West Side wasteland.

[jogoode]

Beautiful. I've been meaning to try this tasting, and this restaurant, for a while now. But in New York Magazine, Platt said that the tasting had disappeared:

Sad to say, the offal-tasting extravaganza had disappeared by the time I got to Onera, although a few of the less jarring dishes (unfortunately, not the calves’ brains  with truffle sauce) have been dispersed throughout the menu.

When were you there, bourdain?

[bourdain]

Couple a weeks ago. I believe I received special treatment--but a lot of the stuff appears on the regular menu, I think. In any case, he's getting a lot of attention for offal--and deserves to be encouraged.

[jogoode]

Definitely. And not the typical offal either; the chef's using hearts and goat tripe! Also, I couldn't believe it when I saw that the offal menu was only $45.

[slkinsey]

We should give them a call and see if they'll still do the offal tasting menu. If a bunch of people were to go there, I bet they could be convinced to trot it out.

[jogoode]

We should give them a call and see if they'll still do the offal tasting menu.  If a bunch of people were to go there, I bet they could be convinced to trot it out.

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You're on, kinsey. And it's more or less in our neighborhood.

[anil]

I went there (I forget when) and did enjoy the dessert and the yogurt dish whose greek name escapes me - yummy

[Daniel]

Went for dinner last night.. Showed up for the last seating of the night at 11... They werent serving the tasting menu.. (I really dont remember much of dinner or the night, I am using the pictures as my words ) .. They were handing out saganaki with Haloumi cheese.. Really good..

We then ordered a mez of scallops served with greek yogurt and yellowtail with something.. Really refreshing, fresh, a great way to start off..

We then ordered the sweetbreads and baccalo that i had the last time i went. The fish was exremely salty, almost like they didnt rinse it that well.. It was served with mashed potatoes.. Last time it was much better.. My date enjoyed it, but it was way too salty for me.. The sweatbreads were excellent.. This picture is a half a portion.. Since we split everything they were gracious enough to divide the app.. Without me asking.. The service is excellent there by the way and everyone is extremely knowledgable and proud to be working there..

We then split the marrow and chestnut ravioli.. It was superb..

Now since i have started baking a lot, I really have been paying attention to desserts.. This place has outstanding desserts.. I had a tasting of rose.. All were great, and really different...

This is hallavah.. That chocolate cake is one of the better cakes i have eaten recently.. This dessert i would put against anyones..

This place is a treasure.

[jogoode]

I'm not sure whether this is news, but I walked by Onera today and noticed that they're offering a $20 three-course lunch that gives you four or fives choices for each course. Sounds like a bargain. Has anyone gone for lunch?

[jogoode]

Ah, it is news. I just got the press release. Here are some of the dishes offered on this pre-fixe menu:

Chilled Jonah Crab & Cucumber Soup

Sheep Milk Yogurt Fondue, Chives

 

Skate Wing

Savory "Open" Baklava, Cinnamon Crème Fraiche, Sour Cherry Jus

 

Crispy Cod with "Three Tops"

Tomato& Green Onion, Olives & Leeks, Green Zucchini & Fresh Mint

 

Grilled Long Island Swordfish

Tomato Braised Cauliflower, Currants & Yellow Raisins, Cracked Green Olive, Navel Orange & Toasted Walnut Nut Salad

 

Pan Roasted Black Bass

Sweet & Sour Endive, Leek Confit and Fingerling Potato, 20 Year Aged Sherry Vinegar Jus

 

Varenika

Crab & Lobster Stuffed Crescent Shaped Ravioli

[Daniel]

Just came back from onera.. I was entertaining two friends from out of town.. One who happens to be a wine maker and was excited to see the incredible selection of greek wines..

we started with the 5 meze.. It was fantastic.. 5 dishes, one veal, one scallop, yellow tail, lamb, and sea urchin..

then skate wing app and a scallop app.

then two types of pasta..

ended with grapa and beers...

the halavah dessert and the rose tasting again...

the chef who cooks the saganki amuse bouche to the rose tasting dessert is a passionate young guy.. He has a vision and a love that I feel lucky to be invited into.. From classy relaxed vibe to amazing staff, its one of my favorite restaurants..

Edited May 18, 2005 by Daniel (log)

[Daniel]

Just came back from a dinner from Onera.. It was awesome! I wish more people talked about this place..Is there anyone out there that has been here recently..

Edited December 17, 2005 by Daniel (log)